New Pics - Oct 09, 2005

[TAWhatley]

Hi All,

Have a major crisis going on at my duck pond right now with 4 recently dumped birds .. some pics of them here as well as some others PLUS my new Congo African Grey family member!

Plus .. see the gorgeous "calico" pijjie at the park ..

http://www.rims.net/2005Oct09

Terry

[Pigeonpal2002]

Lovely photos as always Terry The park is a beautiful place to be by the looks of it. The ducks are stunning, the pigeon is very unusual coloured and GORGEOUS and that poor little AG...what's his/her story?

[Trees Gray]

What a variety of ducks, great pictures.

The "calico" pigeon is very unusual looking.

...and the grey, what story does he have to tell?

[Lady Tarheel]

Terry, I always look forward to your pictures. The speckled pigeon is really beautiful. Will you keep the pretty African Grey? maggie

[TAWhatley]

I was able to get the goose out of the water this morning. He
was weak but will hopefully be fine. I'll be keeping an eye on
the newcomers to be sure everything is OK. The ducks finally
figured out that there were large boulders near the edge of the
pond to stand on. Pics from today at:

http://www.rims.net/2005Oct10

and video of the goose at:

http://www.rims.net/2005Oct10/HPIM1362.AVI
http://www.rims.net/2005Oct10/HPIM1367.AVI
http://www.rims.net/2005Oct10/HPIM1368.AVI

I will have to delete the videos in a day or two to free up space.

Terry

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for the comments everyone! The little CAG hasn't been named yet but hopefully the right name will be forthcoming.

This CAG was an unexpected baby for someone just getting started with breeding parrots. He's a very nice fellow and simply didn't realize that the breeding pair he had purchased in May blessed him with a baby in June. He got curious about the amount of time the parents were spending in the nest box and discovered this baby with the feet already chewed off at just a couple of days of age.

I am planning on keeping this baby but do have options for other good homes should I not be up to the task. The youngster is quite active and agile, and I don't think we will have too many problems once the little one settles in here.

Terry

[Lady Tarheel]

Hi again Terry. I hate to ask you so many questions as busy as you are but when you talk about the ducks and geese getting too wet and being dumped, what does that mean. Have they been raised by people and taken to the park to fend for themselves? Also, why in the world would the african grey's parents chew his feet off.

Just at your convenience.

maggie

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Terry,

Thanks for the explanation with the AG, I had forgotten that some parrot type birds will do this to their young....do you know what the reason is because I don't remember.

In regards to this goose, you never really mentioned why you needed to capture it but there seems to be something seriously wrong with it's neck. Pardon any ingorance here but that is just what I gathered from your videos.

Best of luck with this goose and if you decide to keep this young AG, I'm sure you'll be able to provide a wonderful, safe environment for it if you're able

[Garye]

The calico pigeon is quite beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen a pigeon with those kind of markings in my favorite flock. It's unusual.

I did notice I have not only one, but two redheads in the flock I visit! So they're taking an interest and joining in with the flock. I also saw one solid white pigeon but unfortunately it was hit by a car and died one day before I could see who did it. I felt terrible for the poor thing. I think it must've been one of those pigeons that are released for weddings but it just couldn't survive like the ferals in the wild. I was depressed once I saw the lifeless body. The poor thing didn't have a chance with some of the nuts who drive fast through the parking lot. One of these days those nuts are going to hit a child and when they do, they'll regret driving so fast like they do now. People sue when it comes to their child.

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Lady Tarheel

Hi again Terry. I hate to ask you so many questions as busy as you are but when you talk about the ducks and geese getting too wet and being dumped, what does that mean. Have they been raised by people and taken to the park to fend for themselves? maggie

Hi Maggie,

No problem .. I'm scrambling here so am going to paste in my response to someone on another list who asked the same question ..

The feathers of birds are waterproofed by them spreading oil from their
preen glands throughout the feathers when preening after a bath. With pet
waterfowl, they often do not get sufficient bath time to really become
waterproof. In the case of these four birds, their feathers were in pretty
good shape as the birds lasted more than an entire two days in the
water before starting to sink like the Titanic. Such a long time in the
water eroded their oily waterproofing and the feathers started soaking
up water .. much like a sponge will do .. once that happens the bird
weighs a great deal more than it did before all the feathers turned into
wet, heavy sponges. With the added weight and the debilitation from
stress, cold, and hunger, they just can't do what they need to do in
order to survive.

I pulled the goose out of the water at around 8 AM this morning ..
you saw those pics .. this is him at noon after preening, oiling his
feathers and getting dry .. still not out of the woods by a long shot
but much better .. http://www.rims.net/2005Oct10/HPIM1278.JPG.
He was still out of the water and grazing at 5 PM today. The goose
still doesn't look real good, but he's sure a lot better than at 8 AM
this morning.

Terry

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Pigeonpal2002

Thanks for the explanation with the AG, I had forgotten that some parrot type birds will do this to their young....do you know what the reason is because I don't remember.

Brad and Garye .. I don't know the answer to this question but have asked on some specialized list about this. Will let you know when I know. My friends at the Lily Sanctuary (http://www.lilysanctuary.org) did not know either.

Terry

[TerriB]

In addition to the entertainment value of all the pictures you share, they also educate a small army of Pigeon-Talk folks. We now know to keep an eye out for ducks and geese with soggy feathers. Thanks!

[TAWhatley]

Lots of folks have been asking about preening .. found a good link:

http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/artwetfeather.htm

Terry